From RB thread:
Liked the BAWLS JINGLE.
DD
**NEW INVESTOR UPDATE**
MDMI: Outstanding shares--46 million / Float--5.7 million
MDMI is Massimos Da Milano, an Italian bakery extraordinaire which has been serving the Dallas market
for over 14 years. What a bonanza for the investors who have the courage to buy! This is a turnaround
pick which offers huge upside potential. MDMI came out of bankruptcy in June of 1997 with new
managment spearheaded by Dana Verrill, a
CEO with a proven track record. He founded and led Spectrum
Information Technologies, a Nasdaq traded company, in the 80's to 100 million in yearly revenue. That
proves he can build a profitable company and shareholder value. When he resigned a decade later, he
left the company with 20 million in cash and virtually no debt. He set goals to do
the same with MDMI by devising a plan which is just now starting to be implemented. The first year he
came on board was marked by his reorganization phase. All pre-bankruptcy debt had been erased, and
all unprofitable accounts closed. He then divided the company into 4 divisions--one of which is the Java
Centrale franchise purchased from Paradise Bakery for $1.5 million in January of 1998. This had been
the only profitable division for Paradise Bakery but it suffered from high turnover due to bad screening.
Verrill has a plan of turning this situation around. He hand picked the locations one by one which would
come under the ownership of MDMI. Currently we have 8 franchises in Texas,
Arizona, and California and the company has taken concrete steps to boost its earnings. They have
developed a kiosk which will be put in each location. The Long Beach, California store is the first to
receive this Kiosk
which is elaborated on in more detail in a previous PR. Verrill intends to open future stores with the
proper screening required and open a new concept modeled after the successful subway franchise in
highly visible upscale locations. Possibly even a little proprietary. When a company in a high growth
industry is modernizing on all fronts and expanding at the same time, there are several chances for
earnings to improve. The best part of this story is that the expansion will be done under the methodical
eye of Verrill. The company is expanding carefully and with caution. You want to avoid the retailers that
expand too fast, especially if they're doing it on borrowed money. This is precisely what spelled the
demise for MDMI under previous mgmt. The franchises currently in operation all seem to be doing well
and under superior management. The resume from this franchisee in Phoenix is quite impressive:
etailia.com
The Phoenix franchise is located in the Phoenix Metroplex, the focal point for the community. The store
according to eyewitness investor accounts appears to be well managed, with a young and enthusiastic
sales force of at least a dozen people. It's location, Metroplex was once the largest mall in the U.S. This
link will give you a peek into the Java Centrale in Long Beach, California where we received our first
Kiosk complete with pictures and a menu.
virtualvoyages.com
I took out my most sophisticated investment tool, a 15-year-old hand-held calcuclator, to do the
following math: 46 million outstanding shares * .15 (price per share) = $7 million. Clearly the company in
the realm of intuition
and right-brain chemistry is undervalued. What sells in one town is almost guaranteed to sell in another,
as it has with donuts and hamburgers. If you wish you had picked up Toys R Us when it was selling at
25 cents a share, this may be your second shot.s
La Guardia is the PR firm covering this stock as a "strong buy and hold" and you can find them at
www.twotrades.com. They can assist you in your DD and have been prompt and direct with all questions
thus far. MDMI has until January, 2000 to file a 10-k but La Guardia has informed
investors that the company currently has an accounting firm working on it. A less risky position would be
to wait for numbers and see, but perhaps a less rewarding position as well. A misguided faith in
measurement has proved harmful as far back as Thales. The early Greek philosopher was
so intent on counting stars that he kept falling into potholes in the road. If you could tell the future from
a balance sheet, then mathematicians and accountants would be the richest people in the world by
now. Finding a winning investment is digging to find a diamond in the rough. I genuinely believe I have
found it!
1999 has been a very exciting year as we are just now beginning to see all of Verrill's efforts unfolding
in his implementation phase. The bakery has experienced tremendous growth. After unprofitable
accounts were closed, the customer list had dropped to virtually nothing. But this year we have seen
130 clients added with prestigous names such as The Outback Steakhouse & Neiman Marcus. A
comprehensive list of these clients came be found at
buymdmi.com
As part of its reorganization plan, Verrill has equipped the bakery with $50,000 in new equipment which
allows Massimos to substantially increase production. He also hired an experienced broker to negotiate
deals with large food chains. We are just starting to see the fruits of this
decision as Albertsons has just signed a deal to put MDMI pastries into 9 Albertsons "test" locations.
According to La Guardia, the results thus far look good for both Albertsons and MDMI. Albertsons is a
grocery chain
similar to a Kroger or Randalls and are currently about 1000 stores strong. The pastries would be
placed in the coffee shops within the new Albertson's stores which offers great revenue producing
potential for
MDMI. Fresh Starts has also entered into an agreement to test MDMI products. More retail food chains
are currently in negotiations with MDMI according to La Guardia Capital and we can expect news about
that progress soon.
MDMI also signed an exclusive agreement with the Hobarama
corporation to distribute Bawls guarana, a new softdrink, throughout Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and
Oklahoma. In just 4 months time after signing this contract, we have seen 173 customers added which
will mostly likely change tomorrow because new customers are coming aboard almost on
a daily basis. This brings the total customer count to 303! Information on Bawls guarana can be found
at
bawls.com
Bawls received high reviews from the critics:
bevnet.com
Bawls guarana receives good press on CNN:
cnnfn.com
If you have "real player" you can listen to this advertising "jingle" airing in Miami!
bawls.com
Bawls has celebrity association:
oldcity.com
In addition, MDMI has added a new line of herbal softdrinks to compliment their new business plan.
Bawls is aimed at the 20-35 yr. old market, but this new line of drinks will be aimed at the teenage
counter culture which Coca-Cola and Pepsi have failed to capture. It is a niche that the
Skeleteens softdrinks (manufactured by Eat me foods inc.) have been able to exploit. It's apparent from
this commentary on ABC news that this will be a positive addition to MDMI's bottom line.
abcnews.go.com
Although a highly controversial product line, this strategy will allow MDMI to expand it's customer base
without cannibalizing any of its existing products. The softdrinks have no production costs associated
with them and offer a high margins for MDMI. I have no doubt we will see many
customers come aboard shortly as we have seen with Bawls guarana. The following will give you a
better idea of what exactly the skeleteens softdrinks are.
Skeleteens gets coverage on ABC news. Here is commentary from Stefani Corri-Delivo, who is also
mentioned in our
recent PR.
abcnews.go.com
These guys rate all the softdrinks on the market:
thebevnet.com
Irritating adds sell!
globe.com.au
A site with a touch of class:
southflorida.sidewalk.msn.com |
